Pioneer Battalion, 1918
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Pioneer Battalion, 1918
Some Māori were keen to be accepted as part of the New Zealand nation, and hoped that participation in the First World War would confirm their membership of the British Empire and the nation. A Māori contingent went to Gallipoli and was subsequently re-formed as the Pioneer Battalion to serve on the western front, where 336 men were killed. Here the battalion performs a haka before the visiting prime minister, William Massey (right), and his deputy Sir Joseph Ward.
About this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, RSA Collection
Reference: 1/2-13282-G
Photograph by Henry Armitage Flanders
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
